Denise Vivaldo

It took years after my mother's death before I could dream about her. In my dreams now, she's in her 50s and still incredibly beautiful. We are usually laughing or shopping or cooking in her kitchen.

I'm not sure why it took my mother so long to come back...

I own at least one thousand cookbooks. I love each one I keep. I am sent at least thirty new cookbooks by authors, publishers and PR agents per year in the hopes that I will review their books. I usually don't because I know...

I was thirty-three and going to culinary school in 1984. There were only a handful of girls in my school of three hundred students. Ninety-eight percent of the students were male and all of the instructors were male. The crème de la crème of the chefs were French. There were...

I have several paying gigs and deadlines that I should be working on but with all the shit storms of last week, I can't focus on "sharing" my favorite chocolate dessert. Like that's what America needs today. Recycle your food magazines from last February; those articles and recipes will still...

Okay, I'm jumping into the fray. I want to go on record first thing by saying that I have never met Paula Deen. I did get a call from her team years ago, but I was booked.

I have never watched her show for more then 10 minutes in all...

You don't have a choice; you're either born Italian or you're not. I thought all people were like us. It was years before I found out that my family was different from most.

Growing up, churches, schools, and stores were all Italian. Social gatherings were spent with other Italians....

The hardest thing about being Italian is finding a house that has big enough closets to save everything you have to save. There are so many things you just cannot throw out. The nagging fear that you will need a particular item at some time in the future stops you....

Years ago, I cooked for one of the richest men in the world. He had been a catering client who then asked me to come to work for him full time as his private chef. His peeps offered me a big bag of money, health benefits, and even stock options...

Last Saturday, I never got out of bed. I didn't want to and I didn't have to. I fed my doggies, grabbed my tea, and dove back into bed with my review copy of Recipes for Life: My Memories, by Linda Evans.

I devoured every page. What...

Recently, a classmate from my days at the California Culinary Academy, Greggor, called to say his parents were downsizing to a retirement home in Hawaii. They were shipping just one container of items across the Pacific Ocean. Gregg was orchestrating the move and wanted to know if I would like...

As a chef and caterer for over 25 years, I've cooked a lot of meals. Cooking has been my passion as well as my career for my entire adult life. I couldn't have done anything else. My personality fits this work, and I'm entirely grateful that I got paid to...

I'm not sure when we started calling Mr....

I get emails everyday during the summer months from wedding planners, chefs and caterers. This story is for you. Lord, I have lived the pain.

I'm not sure how actress Tracy Nelson found my catering company; I just remember that she was darling, tiny and so excited to be...

I'm the commencement speaker this week for a graduating class at a prestigious Art Institute. I don't know who suggested me, but it was most likely a client. I can be honest about my clients; even when I'm a shit, they like me. It's part of my charm. And why?...

I grew up admiring elephants. My mother's father drove Mrs. Fleischacker, the original benefactor family of the San Francisco Zoo. My mother told me stories of riding in the back of Fleischacker's big, black Lincoln and my grandfather wearing a chauffeur's uniform. Mrs. F...

I had been catering for many years by the time Macy's asked me to work on their big AIDS Fundraiser. The event was called Passport, billed as the biggest fashion show in the world, held in San Francisco and Los Angeles annually. One year I was hired to provide the...

Today on Facebook, there was a lively discussion from the non-famous, hard working food community. They were asking why celebrities write cookbooks? This discussion came about because there is a celebrity cookbook coming out this April by a beautiful TV star. She's prettier than any pastry. I love her ruffled...

I could see out of the corner of my eye that the last delivery of rentals had arrived. It was 2:00 PM. Kenny was right on time. I just had to get two of my boys to unwrap the last 400 dinner plates into the red kitchen. There, I thought,...

The last time I blogged for the Huffington Post, I made a confession. I didn't expect anyone to notice, except the usual suspects -- I mean, readers. I had no idea that angel food cake was such a hot topic. I got hundreds, maybe even a thousand private emails. Now,...

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